The science fiction establishment has gradually learned to love Stanisław Lem. But Lem hardly returned the favor. He dismissed most science fiction as poorly written,ill conceived and too focused on theclichés of adventure stories. The “Lemaffair,” as the resulting controversycame to be known, grew so heated thatthe author was expelled from theScience Fiction Writers of Americain 1976.

But sci-fi guru Philip K. Dick was evenharsher in his critique. He sent a letterto the FBI denouncing Lem, and ac-cusing him of being a communist partyfunctionary and a “composite committeerather than an individual.” In all fairnessto Dick, he was suffering from schizophrenia at the time, and may have had his own psychological composite committees with which to contend. But his heated antagonism toward the brilliant Polish writer was shared by many colleagues.

With the passing of the years, and with Lem’s own passing—he died of heart failure in 2006 at the age of 84—tempers have calmed, and the sci-fi world can appreciate this masterful writer who deservedly ranks among the finest half-dozen authors of speculative fiction in modern times. In a series of works, Lem cut through the stale formulas of the genre. In time, his reputation would also transcend the sci-fi label—usually avoided like the triffids by authors who hope that their work will be taken seriously—and as a result Lem earned awards and attracted admirers who would hardly acknowledge Heinlein or Asimov, Sturgeon or Clarke.

Solaris is Lem’s most famous work, and an excellent starting-point for readers who want to make the acquaintance of this seminal writer. What would happen, Lem asks, if an encounter with intelligent alien life took place on a biological level beyond our comprehension? What if the life form was so different that it no longer matched our pre-conceptions of how organisms look and act?

The planet Solaris is apparently uninhabited, except for the scientists from Earth who operate a small research station. The surface of the planet is covered by water, and the visitors marvel at the range of patterns and forms taken by the waves, which act in an awe-inspiring and sometimes frightening manner. But cryptic events start taking place among the researchers, and the only possible explanation is that the ocean is responsible. Can a geographic fact, a part of the landscape, really be a life form? Or can some other explanation be found?

Here, as in Lem’s best works, the limitations of human intelligence play an important role in defining the drama and tension of the narrative. (For another provocative example, check out Lem's His Master's Voice, reviewed here.) The naïve positivism of the sci-fi genre is replaced by a hard-nosed scepticism that challenges many of our most basic assumptions. And Lem achieves all this with a body of water? Yet, with the possible exception of Steven Spielberg's Jaws no story has made an ocean seem quite so disturbing as Solaris.

Critics of sci-fi often point out that the genre focuses on spectacular surface effects, while leaving the psychological depths untouched. This charge can hardly be applied to Solaris. The “contact” with alien intelligence—if that is, in fact, what is happening on the planet—takes on the appearance of an external manifestation of the scientists' inner lives. The psychological is made real, often in surprising and disturbing ways. As a result, the exploration of this strange world takes on a dreamlike quality, a haunting that the human visitors cannot escape since it seems grounded in their own minds.

In Lem’s universe, heroism is usually suspect and adventure inadvertent. "Behind every glorious facade," this author once lamented, "there is always hidden something ugly." Such pessimism is rare even among highbrow literary fiction, but in the genre category where Lem made an uncomfortable home, it is still a revelation and no doubt one of the reasons why this author has inspired such mixed feelings among others in the field. Yet readers should have no such qualms, and will do well to familiarize themselves with this exceptional book and thought-provoking author.